Game Details

This may be a technical distinction most people don’t recognize, but it’s also a historical truth: Most German soldiers during World War II weren’t actually Nazis. In games like the Medal of Honor series, the early Call of Duty games, Day of Defeat, or the new Heroes & Generals, players are fighting as or against the German Wehrmacht, their regular army forces.

The Waffen-SS, on the other hand, is the armed wing of the Nazi party that has always been the primary antagonist throughout the Castle Wolfenstein franchise. But these virtual enemies never felt properly evil to me until I got to engage with a three-hour demo of Wolfenstein: The New Order recently.

Sure, I've always known from history just how evil the SS troops in previous Wolfenstein games were, but that was knowledge I had from outside the game. Inside the games themselves, I was fighting an “SS Paranormal Division” that felt more like the cartoonish villains from the Indiana Jones movies—raising dead spirits, seeking religious totems, or engaging in other such hocus-pocus with a little Nazi superweapon vibe thrown in.

What made the preview build of Wolfenstein: The New Order so harsh for me were the reminders and references to just what made the Nazis one of the worst evils to blight the face of the Earth. The first two hours of that demo felt more like a horror movie than a first-person shooter, because I felt like I was fighting real Nazis in a video game for the very first time.

That's not to say this is a realistic historical document or anything. The New Order takes place in an alternate history where the Germans win the war, and there’s a strong sci-fi element to enemies, like giant robotic rats, cybernetically enhanced dogs, human soldiers piloting giant tripod mechs, and flying robot patrol drones. Amid all that fiction, there are distinct references to a not-at-all supernatural evil perpetrated by the Nazis of the sort that I haven't seen (or at least can't recall) in any previous Wolfenstein game.

At one point, the game leads you into a morgue with bloody sack cloths thrown over corpses on examination tables and diagrams of experimental human enhancement designs on the walls. Another room has corpses held up by their necks, skin pulled back from their backbones and held in place with clamps. “There’s ashes down here. There’s a lot of ashes down here,” says one of the soldiers who accompanies you into that room. If you don’t know what the scene is trying to evoke, you need to read some history.

The uncomfortable truths continued during a cut scene in a Polish mental institution while the game’s hero, B. J. Blazkowicz, is catatonic after an injury at the end of the introductory levels. Nazis storm in and take some patients in chains with hoods over their heads, the officer in charge shouting over a doctor’s protests that the patients are “subhumans who would serve the Reich,” another revolting reminder of Nazi ideology.

I don’t know if mass market video games should ever directly depict the reality of the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis, but having some sort of sideways recognition of that evil in a video game is noteworthy. I'm all right with that recognition making me a little uncomfortable. It ought to be uncomfortable. You’re fighting Nazis.

Satisfying shooting

What finally wakes Blazkowicz up is the arrival of those same Germans to “decommission” the hospital; in other words, to slaughter everyone. That’s when the game’s primary storyline kicks in. According to producer Will Noble, that storyline takes Wolfenstein: The New Order away from the horror movie vibe of the game’s first few levels and into more of a science-fiction heist story about breaking members of the resistance out of prison and striking back against the Nazis who rule the world in this alternate version of 1960.

At least from what I saw in the first two levels of that main storyline, MachineGames has done its homework in terms of studying historical German army designs and trying to advance them forward in a grounded-yet-futuristic manner. I broke out of the mental institution and took cover behind what were clearly advanced Kubelwagen light vehicles, dodging fire from troops disgorging from what obviously looked like a future-version Puma scout car that smashed through the front gates.

I spent the rest of my demo on foot in some very satisfying first-person shooter combat. Playing with the difficulty set one notch below maximum, I had to put in some real work to proceed through that three-hour demo—sliding into and leaning up and out of cover were absolute necessities. I also had to be very careful not to burn through too much ammo and had to go back through cleared areas of the map and really scrounge around to get my bullet counts up.

The level designs provided multiple routes of approach and flanking positions and plenty of cover to leapfrog to. The enemy AI was fantastic and managed to use all of these level elements against me. I’d pop out of cover to take a bead on someone, and he’d slide into cover, and I’d miss those wasted rounds pretty quickly.

The New Order does offer a limited automatic health regeneration, but only up to a paltry one-fifth of your maximum capacity. Past that, you have to rely on med packs or food to keep yourself alive—no recovering from those multiple gunshots with a few seconds of rest here. You can also pick up supplementary armor and “overcharge” your health temporarily above 100 percent, an old-school touch that wasn't unwelcome.

I don’t have much patience for stealth in first-person shooters, but I may have to build some in playing The New Order. Players can track opposing soldiers via their radio signals, and taking them all down silently means they can’t call for reinforcements. Every time I didn’t bother to exercise the patience to get rid of the officers this way, I regretted it.

The game also features a light stat-building mechanic, letting players unlock perks like higher ammo storage, resistance to explosive damage, and quieter stealth movement as they progress. This means your B. J. Blazkowicz will naturally evolve over time to support your play style. I also gained the ability to hotwire electronics after one of my supporting characters died—a death I helped cause, indirectly, after choosing between him and a fellow soldier.

When producer Will Noble told me after my demo that there is no multiplayer in Wolfenstein: The New Order, it made sense. With no secondary game mode to divert development resources, MachineGames has been able to concentrate on the single-player campaign. I think the benefits of this approach are already showing through an attention-grabbing narrative and highly polished, challenging shooting.

Often developers only give you carefully coiffed and manicured portions of a game during a hands-on preview, but Bethesda just tossed me the keys and let me drive as far down the road as I could get in three hours. That extended play time convinced me that Wolfenstein: The New Order would be worth a pre-order even without the included access to the Doom 4 beta. That even goes for someone as cynical about pre-orders as I am. Make of that what you will.

Dennis Scimeca is a freelance writer from Boston who also covers the video game beat for Salon and NPR. You can also find him on Twitter: @DennisScimeca

I don't believe in ghosts, but when we did a class trip to Auschwitz a few years back, the weight of the ghosts there pressed down on you in a way that defies description.

You feel heavier there, and it feels like you're being pressed to the ground, and when you realise that it's knowing of all the millions of people who died there, I think it's fair to say that what you feel there is the weight of the ghosts. Even if you don't believe in them.

Everyone should visit Auschwitz one time in their lives. They really will never forget the experience.

I don't believe in ghosts, but when we did a class trip to Auschwitz a few years back, the weight of the ghosts there pressed down on you in a way that defies description.

You feel heavier there, and it feels like you're being pressed to the ground, and when you realise that it's knowing of all the millions of people who died there, I think it's fair to say that what you feel there is the weight of the ghosts. Even if you don't believe in them.

Everyone should visit Auschwitz one time in their lives. They really will never forget the experience.

When producer Will Noble told me after my demo that there is no multiplayer in Wolfenstein: The New Order, it made sense. With no secondary game mode to divert development resources, MachineGames has been able to concentrate on the single-player campaign.

This. A million times this.

We don't need Yet Another Multiplayer FPS. Hammering it onto a franchise that was decidedly single player because some reviewers seem to think all games should have MP has gone wrong on many occasions.

Looks good. If it appears on Steam with no added DRM I'll buy it. If it requires additional logins for additional DRM then forget it.

I want to play Far Cry 3 very much but SCREW UPLAY.

typical kid who think he's entitled

If I could downvote you multiple times, I would. There's nothing wrong with someone wanting to protect their product but I'm sick of having a login for each publisher. Steam is enough. Integrate into that in a better way. Work with Valve to make it work for you.

Looks good. If it appears on Steam with no added DRM I'll buy it. If it requires additional logins for additional DRM then forget it.

I want to play Far Cry 3 very much but SCREW UPLAY.

typical kid who think he's entitled

If I could downvote you multiple times, I would. There's nothing wrong with someone wanting to protect their product but I'm sick of having a login for each publisher. Steam is enough. Integrate into that in a better way. Work with Valve to make it work for you.

and if i could downvote you into infinite if i could that lame mentality is what is wrong with people these dayswaah waah i dont' get what i want throw a tantrum

At least they're willing to stick to their guns. I've heard plenty of people boycotting games that get them anyway just because they don't want to be without. I agree that the system where each publisher/developer is making you create accounts in each of their systems is not enjoyable. I'll admit that I don't like them, but I have one for just about each one. Simply because I don't have the willpower of the original poster. That being said, I also don't claim to boycott games either. So take from this what you will.

Looks good. If it appears on Steam with no added DRM I'll buy it. If it requires additional logins for additional DRM then forget it.

I want to play Far Cry 3 very much but SCREW UPLAY.

typical kid who think he's entitled

If I could downvote you multiple times, I would. There's nothing wrong with someone wanting to protect their product but I'm sick of having a login for each publisher. Steam is enough. Integrate into that in a better way. Work with Valve to make it work for you.

and if i could downvote you into infinite if i could that lame mentality is what is wrong with people these dayswaah waah i dont' get what i want throw a tantrum

The only one throwing a tantrum is you. OP said that he doesn't wants to buy a game with additional DRM and that is his right as a consumer. He didn't said that he is going to pirate the game if it comes with UPLAY or anything like that, that would imply that he feels entitled to play the game. He just said, screw UPLAY, I'm not going to buy a game with it. And that is his right as a consumer, to vote with his wallet.

Looks good. If it appears on Steam with no added DRM I'll buy it. If it requires additional logins for additional DRM then forget it.

I want to play Far Cry 3 very much but SCREW UPLAY.

typical kid who think he's entitled

If I could downvote you multiple times, I would. There's nothing wrong with someone wanting to protect their product but I'm sick of having a login for each publisher. Steam is enough. Integrate into that in a better way. Work with Valve to make it work for you.

and if i could downvote you into infinite if i could that lame mentality is what is wrong with people these dayswaah waah i dont' get what i want throw a tantrum

I don't even understand where you're getting into entitlement from. This is not about entitlement. This is about publishers throwing their crap on us because they want to brand their material and protect their investment. And then when the service shuts down the game is no longer playable. See GameSpy. The video game industry is one of the few industries where antiquity means being lost because of DRM and these stupid services. There are plenty games I like that I want to keep playing. When Diablo 3 and Titanfall's servers go offine in 20 years, those games are dead and no one will be able to play them. That's nothing to say of treating me like a criminal.

And besides, you're content with just taking what people throw at you without arguing its merit?

I don't believe in ghosts, but when we did a class trip to Auschwitz a few years back, the weight of the ghosts there pressed down on you in a way that defies description.

You feel heavier there, and it feels like you're being pressed to the ground, and when you realise that it's knowing of all the millions of people who died there, I think it's fair to say that what you feel there is the weight of the ghosts. Even if you don't believe in them.

Everyone should visit Auschwitz one time in their lives. They really will never forget the experience.

How about visiting the soviets gulags instead? You know, where over 18 million people where killed.

Labor camps where actually created by the British during the boer war. The rest of the world just copied the idea.

Looks good. If it appears on Steam with no added DRM I'll buy it. If it requires additional logins for additional DRM then forget it.

I want to play Far Cry 3 very much but SCREW UPLAY.

typical kid who think he's entitled

If I could downvote you multiple times, I would. There's nothing wrong with someone wanting to protect their product but I'm sick of having a login for each publisher. Steam is enough. Integrate into that in a better way. Work with Valve to make it work for you.

and if i could downvote you into infinite if i could that lame mentality is what is wrong with people these dayswaah waah i dont' get what i want throw a tantrum

I don't even understand where you're getting into entitlement from. This is not about entitlement. This is about publishers throwing their crap on us because they want to brand their material and protect their investment. And then when the service shuts down the game is no longer playable. See GameSpy. The video game industry is one of the few industries where antiquity means being lost because of DRM and these stupid services. There are plenty games I like that I want to keep playing. When Diablo 3 and Titanfall's servers go offine in 20 years, those games are dead and no one will be able to play them. That's nothing to say of treating me like a criminal.

And besides, you're content with just taking what people throw at you without arguing its merit?

that's the COST of doing business if you don't like taking that risk DON'T do it AND don't use the same complaint on every other article out there

you are not entitled to get the game delivered to you in the way YOU want

you either start your own company or DEAL with it like an adult

He is dealing with it like an adult and not buying the game if he doesn't like the drm, not sure what the hell your problem is.

Looks good. If it appears on Steam with no added DRM I'll buy it. If it requires additional logins for additional DRM then forget it.

I want to play Far Cry 3 very much but SCREW UPLAY.

typical kid who think he's entitled

If I could downvote you multiple times, I would. There's nothing wrong with someone wanting to protect their product but I'm sick of having a login for each publisher. Steam is enough. Integrate into that in a better way. Work with Valve to make it work for you.

and if i could downvote you into infinite if i could that lame mentality is what is wrong with people these dayswaah waah i dont' get what i want throw a tantrum

The only one throwing a tantrum is you. OP said that he doesn't wants to buy a game with additional DRM and that is his right as a consumer. He didn't said that he is going to pirate the game if it comes with UPLAY or anything like that, that would imply that he feels entitled to play the game. He just said, screw UPLAY, I'm not going to buy a game with it. And that is his right as a consumer, to vote with his wallet.

he yelled screw you uplay because he couldn't get his way and some how thought other people cared to see his childish response

Wow, a Wolfenstein with a worthwhile single-player game that actually feels like it's worth paying attention to? Be still my beating heart.

I'll definitely be keeping track of this.

um return to castle wolfenstein was awesome

I was underwhelmed by the single-player game. Especially since it seemed like the Nazis were drop-ins for "bag guys" as opposed to really calling out the unique evil Nazis actually perpetrated. Sounds like this Wolfenstein might resolve that.